At the beginning of 2021, I set out to read 36 books. Easy, I thought, 3 books a month. (Note: When I say “read” I mean a combination of listening to audiobooks and reading. I do about 50/50, depending on the week and what I have planned.)

As the year went on, I realized 3 books a month would be a challenge. I decided to change the goal to 32 (because 2 2/3 books is that much easier), and spoiler alert — I ended up getting to 32, then reading 4 more to get to my original goal of 36!

36 books wasn’t easy. But, I rediscovered my love for reading and found myself hungry for new books and new genres and new authors as the year went on. I’m so glad I set the goal, and I’m excited to see what 2022 holds. 

Here are the books I read this year, in the order that I read them in. If you scroll down, I’ve also included some info about which books I recommend, the fastest read, etc. 

1. Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
2. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
3. Luster by Raven Leilani
4. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
5. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
6. Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler
7. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
8. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
9. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
10. Less by Andrew Sean Greer
11. Faye Faraway by Helen Fisher
12. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
14. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
15. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
16. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
17. Severance by Ling Ma
18. That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
19. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
20. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
21. Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu
22. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
23. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
24. The Four Winds by Kirstin Hannah
25. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
26. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
27. Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
28. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
29. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
30. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
31. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
32. The Color of Water by James McBride
33. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
34. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
35. Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
36. Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

Want to add some of these to your list for 2022? Here are my thoughts:

My top 5 books of 2021

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Deacon King Kong
• The Color of Water
• The Midnight Library
• The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
• Honorable mentions: Less, What Alice Forgot

The hardest to read (But still good)

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: My coworker called this “raw” and that’s a great description. It’s a beautiful book, but man, some parts were hard to read for me. 

The fastest reads/page-turners

Someone We Know: Not the best-written book, but I read it in less than 3 days. I had to hear what happened next!

The Last Thing He Told Me: I had to keep reading – it starts out somewhat confusing, but in a way that made me eager to find out what was going on.

American Dirt: I know there has been controversy behind this book, but I found the story truly riveting. So, now I’ve added all these books to my list for 2022: 8 books by Latin American authors to read instead of, or in addition to, ‘American Dirt’.

Leave The World Behind: I stayed up late one night reading this and couldn’t put it down. I just HAD to find out what was going to happen! (And if you’ve read this, please PM me about the ending)

The best audiobook

Daisy Jones & The Six: It has an amazing cast (Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber) and honestly was easier to listen to than read because there are so many different characters. The audiobook has each person read their own section and it felt like I was listening to a series of interviews.

Best “beach reads”

• One to Watch
• People We Meet on Vacation
• Malibu Rising

And now, your turn! What books did you read this year? Any books I can add to my 2022 list?